Capital flows
Cross-border movement of money for investment, lending, or portfolio allocation—tied to exchange rates and financial stability.
Capital flows finance trade deficits, build factories abroad, and transmit shocks when investors suddenly retreat. They connect Wall Street to Main Street through interest rates and credit availability.
Openness
States tightly linked to global finance or multinationals feel swings in capital allocation differently from more domestically oriented regions—another layer beyond merchandise trade.
The content plan groups capital flows with state_trade_metrics alongside globalization, exchange rates, trade surplus, trade deficit, and growth.